Street Rat
by Trippy3
Summary: Another dreary X-mas for Toad, but one day he finds a gift too big to wrap... rated for violence, language and crude humor. I'm bad. COMPLETED!
1. Crossing Paths

Yay! I finally got inspiration and now I write this. Whee! This is in an alternative universe, I think. It's an X-mas theme, even though it's almost March. _ I try.

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The sound of carolers singing rung through the city streets of Bayville, filling the chilly air with warmth and cheer as people were out buying gifts for their loved ones or frolicking in the snow.

Everyone was in a good mood. Except for one gloomy soul.

Todd Tolansky, otherwise known as Toad, walked down the sidewalk with his head hung, trying his best not to be accidentally pushed or shoved from the many people in his way. Cold, he thought. How he hated it. Also crowds. 

Two of his most hated things right there in his face. He sighed heavily as he stopped to peer into the window of a department store, seeing a line of kids all waiting to sit in Santa's lap and tell him what they want for Christmas.

He too, wanted something for Christmas, but it was a special something that would not be able to fit in his bag. Someone to share the holiday with, a friend, or possibly more. Tears stung his eyes as he continued down the street, not headed for anywhere in particular.

It was the same every year. Lance and Pietro would fight over something stupid and Freddy would try to break it up while Toad would wander about the city, hoping everything had cooled down by the time he got back.

He could never find Christmas cheer at the Brotherhood, he didn't want to spend it with them…even if they were his only (dysfunctional) family. But nonetheless he did not want to risk being caught in between the feud, having still being sore from last time.

During the clash of egos, started by a rather rude comment from Pietro about Lance's hairstyle, Lance had unnoticeably shoved Toad down the stairs and he landed on his back- right onto a pair of misplaced sneakers. 

Shaking off the bad memory, he heard a distant shriek and finally noticed that he had stumbled into a bad part of town. In the distance gunshots and sirens could be heard, and many druggies, hobos and gang members roamed the streets, with a beer in their hand and a cigarette between their lips.

Graffiti was everywhere except the grayish slush and snow and Toad felt it was the time to hightail it out of there and leaped onto the roof of a dilapidated building, scanning his surroundings. He really must have traveled far, for he didn't recognize a single thing.

He looked down at the sidewalk where he had just been and saw that his footprints were starting to get covered up by the snow, and also saw two lines, side by side and flanked with various footprints leading to who knows where. 

He knew he shouldn't, but curiosity got the better of him and he hopped down to follow them. It was probably just some people pulling a cart or something, he thought with a scowl, but his instincts told him that something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

The young mutant pursued the tracks for several blocks until they finally ended on a street corner, and in their place were many scattered tracks that formed somewhat of large circle. "A struggle took place here," Toad muttered to himself.

Trashcans clanked together noisily in the small dark alley next to him and he snapped his head to the side to see who had caused this, and horror plastered onto his face upon spotting a small pool of blood and a pair of jean-covered legs, matted with fresh blood.

---@---

Is Toad Jewish? O_o oh well, I have an excuse: ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE, I think. Next chapter up whenever ^^


	2. So We Meet

Aaaaahhhhh! Every cartoon I've seen has an original character I made for that cartoon. If you don't like OC's, turn back now please. I'm sensitive to flames _;;;;

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There behind several trashcans was a young girl, around Toad's age, sitting down and leaning against the wall, with her head down and her eyes half-lidded, staring down at her hands in her lap, which were wrapped in dirty bandages.

She had shredded dirty blonde hair that stopped slightly past her shoulders, and her attire was ripped and bloody. A long sleeve white shirt with the left sleeve torn off, exposing a rather nasty and painful looking gash on her forearm.

Her pants were just as bad. Concealing her worn-out blue converse sneakers, they were big baggy blue jeans with various holes and tears in them, some covered up with funky patches: a smiley face on her right knee, the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine on the right outer thigh, and a big pink flower on her left thigh.

But probably her oddest feature was her pale complexion; she was as pure white as the snow she was sitting in.

The girl was so dazed she didn't see Toad there until he squatted down next to her and she slowly turned her head before jumping back, eyes wide with fear. "I told you it's nothing!" she barked at him, ready to defend herself once more.

The frog-boy held up his hands, "Easy babe, I'm not here to hurt ya," he whispered calmly, lying off his punk accent as not to scare her more. Standing up, he held out his hand to her and she warily let him help her to her feet, noting his big hand nearly engulfed her tiny one.

The girl was about a head shorter than him and seemed to be more at ease, although you couldn't tell from her constant shivering.

"T-t-thanks, I-I better get going," she took only two steps before nearly falling and she braced herself against the wall, trying to continue, but a large cut on her leg was throbbing painfully and blood was seeping through her jeans.

"Hey hey, hey!" Toad gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, "You need medical attention sweetheart. I would take ya back to my place, but I'm little lost right now," he poked his head out of the alley. Nope, still nothing recognizable.

Smoky gray eyes brightened. "Oh, I can help you with that!" the girl grinned, showing her off-white teeth, "Just tell me which way you came and I'll send you on your way…um…" "Todd Tolansky, but everyone calls me Toad. You?"

The albino-like teen waved her hand, dismissing the subject. "Not important. Which way?" she sounded almost impatient as the two went out onto the street and looked around. "That way, I think," "Hmm, west…"

She circled Toad, as if studying him with a pensive look, and after a few moments she stopped and nodded to herself. "Yeah, I know where yer headin'. I can get ya to at least 3rd Street," she limped that way, telling him to follow. Instead of following however, he leaped at her, snaking his arm around her waist and jumping onto the nearest roof.

"I can't let ya walk in your condition," the urchin was speechless, mouth agape. Tolansky smirked and bent down, motioning her to get on his back. She obliged and wrapped her arms around his shoulders so she wouldn't accidentally asphyxiate him.

Holding her legs up, being thoughtful of her injuries, he started to leap from building to building effortlessly, intently listening to directions and trying to ignore the girls' hot breath on his ear.

Slowly, things started to look more and more familiar, and once they passed Bayville high school Toad could find his way without any further guidance and was at the Brotherhood house in a matter of seconds, hopping through his window on the second floor.

Toads' room was rather scarce of furniture. An old rickety bed covered with a dark green comforter with a small nightstand with a lamp next to it, a dresser, and a grungy beige recliner with some stuffing poking out through the stitches, and a door, which led into the hallway.

He set her down on his bed. "Stay here. I gotta find some bandages or Band-Aids or somethin'!" he flitted out the door and jumped down the stairs, trying to remember where he saw a first aid kit. He finally found it in one of the cabinets in the kitchen and was about to leap back up to his room, until Pietro was suddenly in front of him.

"Hey Toad," he said, now beside him, "Whatcha doin'? Playing doctor?" "None o' yer business." Todd replied with a scowl, shoving past him and going back up to his room, making sure to lock the door.

The girl was still where he left her and went over to the side of his bed to look at her for a moment. She was sitting up and leaning against the headboard, snuggling his pillow. It had been a long time since she had the luxury of being in a real bed.

"Sorry…" she breathed when she opened her eyes, blinking once then setting the pillow down and rolling up her pant legs and sleeves—well, sleeve. The amphibious teen took out a cloth and poured warm water onto it and started to clean the cuts on her legs.

"So, now that I've taken you into my humble abode, care tah' tell me your name?" the slightest tint of red appeared on her cheeks and she bit down on her bottom lip. "I-It's…well, ya see, the people at the orphanage says my mom was a hippie and uh…"

She paused, blushing even more. "It's Sunshine." Toad's eyes widened before grinning from ear to ear, "And I'm damn proud of it too, so don't be making any jokes!" her voice was just as punk as his, and he just grinned even more.

"Don't find many girls like you Sunshine," he told her as he wiped away the dried blood that had dripped down her legs, "Tell me a lil' bit about ya' self Sunshine." Wincing, she began her story.

"I was dropped off at the orphanage when I was just a few months old. They never told me why, so I don't know if it was because my parents didn't want me or whatever. I grew up there and let me tell ya that place is horrible!

"All the kids used to tease me about my skin, and my name, and my attitude and…well, they just plain teased me about everything. I never really cared, but sometimes it got so frustrating to the point where I beat the livin' sh—" she caught herself. "Ahem, _snot _outta them.

"Most of the time I just threw a witty comment at them and they'd shut up. But as I got older they grew more and more fierce. They would gang up on me and beat me up, but I never told anyone whom it was that did it. Because no one would listen. No one would care.

"So then a little over two years ago I ran away, hoping to find someone, anyone. My parents, relatives, just someone who would, ya know, be there for me. I've been hangin' around the streets ever since, making friends with stray animals and such. 

"I've been in a lot of fights with gangs too. I can take 'em though. But the gang that did this to me got me by surprise. I can take on three, four, and even five guys at a time, there were too many though. This particular gang knows a few things about me…"

She hissed as Toad cleaned the deep cut on her forearm, "These guys, they know stuff about me that shouldn't be known, and they hate me because of it." "You a mutant?" the question was nonchalant, not filled with the animosity she expected.

"Heh, yeah. You guess right. And, I already knew you were one too," she scratched her pinkish nose a little, "I can sense those kinda things. Never met another mutant before. Heh, cool." She watched as Toad dabbed some liquid onto the cloth.

"Okay, now this might sting a bit…"

---@---

I dunno about you, but I like rubbing alcohol. It burns so good ^_^


	3. Not Welcome

Dragging along, I give you…*fanfare* the next chapter!

Lance and Pietro were watching TV when they heard a small sound, something like a whimper. "Hey, you hear that?" Lance asked.

"Probably just some stupid stray dog outside," the speed demon muttered, trying to figure out the 8- letter word that was on Wheel of Fortune. Then, a slightly louder sound, a yelp. This made the two jump. "Okay, what the hell was that?!"

Avalanche turned and looked out the window. Seeing nothing more than snow, he growled and sat back down. "Hey, Fred, did you hear that?" he yelled into the kitchen. The giant strode into the living, holding a freshly made sandwich.

"Hear what?" then, a scream pierced the air, startling the members of the Brotherhood. "That." "Sounded like it came from upstairs." Pietro said, getting up and charging up the stairs, the other two boys following.

They then listened carefully, hearing various whimpers and moans from Toad's room.

"Oh man, the Toad's playin' horizontal leapfrog in there!" Lance shouted before jiggling the knob, only to find it was locked. "Toad, open up!" he banged on the door. "If I find you screwing someone I'm gonna kick your scrawny ass!!"

Commotion could be heard on the other side of the door before it finally opened. "Hey guys, 'sup?" Toad smiled shakily, but the three pushed pass him to inspect his room, but saw no one else. Pietro was the first to notice the bloodstains on his sheets.

"You kill somebody Toad?" he lifted the sheets, but nothing was under them. There was also the first aid kit on the floor, its contents strewn about. "Oh-ho-ho! I think I found something!" Freddy laughed haughtily, pulling a bedraggled Sunshine out from under the bed, holding her in the air by the back of her shirt.

She quivered uncontrollably from the stares she was getting and gazed at Todd with big gray eyes. "Okay, what is that?" Lance demanded, pointing accusingly at the girl, "Did you force her to do it? Did you just pluck this kid off the streets and fu—" 

"Man, I didn't know you had it in ya!" the silver-haired teen interrupted, "I mean, I knew you couldn't find a girl, but damn! How much she charge ya?" Outraged, Sunshine swung her legs at Pietro, successfully getting her ankles around his neck and proceeded to choke him.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" she screamed, but Lance pried her legs off of the gasping boy and Fred set her down, where she instantly tried to tackle Pietro, but the other three teens held her back. "Okay, okay. I'm fine now."

Checking to make sure her bandages would stay put; she started to roll down her pants while Lance took Todd out into the hallway. "Alright, who is she?" "A girl I found in a' alleyway bleedin' to death," the earthquake-maker grabbed Toad by the collar.

He knew that Toad's raging hormones were driving the poor boy crazy and that he was starting to get a little desperate for attention from the opposite sex. "I-I-I swear I didn't touch her!" though unsure, he begrudgingly let him go and walked back into the room.

"You ain't staying here so get out." Lance stated blandly, pointing towards the door. "H-hey! Why not?" Todd and Sunshine asked in unison. "Ahem, does _Brother_hood ring a bell?" Pietro interjected quickly, crossing his arms over his chest.

The mutant girl wasn't quite sure what to say. "Hey, if you want me to act like a guy…" she unzipped her pants and pulled them down slightly, exposing underwear as white as her skin, then made sure her voice was deep and manly before saying,

"All right men! Let's go get us a six-pack and watch us some porn! Yeeeaaah, and pick up some chicks! Then we can go downtown and pee our names in the snow! Then we can—" STOP!!" the ground rumbled and knocked Sunshine off balance.

"Ugh, I get it I get it," she straightened herself and sulked out the door. "Well, thank you for bandaging me up Todd. You're the only person who's ever been kind to me..." As she made her way down the stairs and towards the front door, Lance was feeling rather guilty.

When he heard the front door open, he yelled down, "Okay, I give up! You can stay!" "WHOO-HOO!" Sunshine flew up the stairs and jumped into his arms. "Thank you so much! Thank you!!" she then hugged Toad and he graciously hugged her back, loving the warmth she was emitting.

"Come on, I'll give ya the grand tour!" he took her hand and they raced downstairs together, giddy as a pair of schoolgirls. 

By the time Todd had shown Sunshine the whole house and she had explored every nook and cranny, finding many rather interesting things: a rotten sandwich, dozens of screws and old newspapers, as well as various magazines, he had taken her down to the laundry room to get her clothes washed.

Wearing nothing more than a pair of black boxers that she found in Pietro's room and a mid-drift camisole, Toad now had a good look of her body. She had an average tummy, telling him that even though she lived on the streets she kept herself well fed.

He also saw that her stomach was the lightest of pinks and smirked to himself. So, she ain't white allover, he thought as he looked her up and down. Short muscled legs, small feet the same pink as her belly and the tip of her nose, and her lean but strong arms.

Most mutants were naturally stronger than regular humans were, and she definitely appeared to be a tough one, despite her small size. "Eyein' yer girlfriend eh?" someone called, scaring the two. Pietro was leaning on the doorframe, mildly amused.

Apparently Sunshine had not noticed Toad ogling her and snorted. "Buzz off Pietro." She said, climbing onto the vibrating washing machine, but he brushed it off and disappeared, then reappeared in front of her. She had been introduced to everyone before she toured the house, so she knew everybody's names and nicknames.

"Hmm, quite a belly ya got there," he poked her stomach, "You should exercise more." She stared at him for a moment. "…More than what?" he deadpanned while Todd tried to suppress a snicker. After Pietro recovered, he looked at her once more.

"Are those my boxers?!" he growled and hooked his thumbs into the elastic waistband and was about to yank them off of her, when her hand came flying down and slapped the speedster right across the face. "Touch me again and I'll clamp your urethra shut."

Holding his stinging cheek, he decided not to push his luck and vanished in a silver blur. "'Bout time somebody put him in his place," Sunshine grinned victoriously at Todd, who was gazing thoughtfully at the bandage on her arm.

"So…may I ask what happened?" there was a long silence before she smiled sadly at her newfound friend, twirling a tangled bang around her finger, disgusted from the greasy feeling of it. Maybe she could take a shower later. 

"Well, it all started when I went down to Chester's Grille lookin' for a handout…"

----@----

…and then her head exploded. Hahaha, no no no, I kid. Flashback next! Stay tuned!


	4. I Flash You

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh, I kinda died there for a while. I've been resurrected and now I give you a long flashback with violence and stuff. Yay for violence! 

A disheveled girl leaned up against the wall of a restaurant slash bar in a bad part of town, giving the sad puppy eyes to every person that walked by.

Sunshine could eat just about anything, but she really needed a good decent meal. She had been going through a rough patch for the past week, nearly getting herself killed almost three times a day, mostly due to her little 'rescue missions'.

She saved a lot of stray animals in all kinds of situations: stuck in a tree, fights, people who abuse the animal, injured, and so on. But earlier that day she had saved a little girl whom almost got herself hit by a truck.

The child's' mother had not seen what had happened, only saw Sunshine in the middle of the street holding her daughter. Yanking the girl out of her arms, the mother had smacked Sunshine and called her a molester and a freak, then walked away in a huff.

Grimacing at the sour memory, she sighed and went around the back, hoping she might find something to eat in their dumpster. The backdoor was open and led into a rather lavish kitchen, which seemed odd for such a grease pit.

"Must be expecting the health inspector," she muttered to herself, making sure the coast was clear before slipping inside, instantly spotting several bowls of dinner rolls sitting atop the counter ahead of her. There was a sink to the right where a man was washing dishes, and she wondered if she still wanted to go for it.

Holding her breath, she eased herself in and quietly crept up to the counter and just about got a bowl, when the man spotted her and started yelling at her in Spanish, wielding a knife. Screaming, she grabbed blindly to a bowl and ran out of there.

When she was far enough away, she caught her breath and looked down at her prize. Most of the bread had fallen out, only two rolls remained. "Just my luck," she heaved, although she was grateful she had been able to snag a snack and swallowed them whole.

"I thought I told you to stay off our turf," a voice came from behind her and she barely turned her head before she was slammed into a few trashcans. Groggy, she looked up to see it was the gang that had been pestering her lately.

The only face she could make though was the leader. A huge dark guy, well over six feet tall, with a jagged scar over his left eye and his head shaved, wearing a big red sweatshirt and a pair baggy black pants.

He reached down to grab her, but she threw the empty bowl at his head, then scrambled to her feet, running as fast as she could. She could run fast if she ever needed to, but because of her short legs and baggy jeans she could only go so far before tiring.

She pushed over garbage cans, mailboxes and anything else in her sights that would hopefully slow the thugs down, giving her the chance to distance herself from them. She didn't want to fight. Not today. She was so tired of fighting. She just wanted to curl up and hide.

Making a sharp left around a corner, she spotted a parked car and literally dove under, digging her nails into the ice so she wouldn't slide out from under it. Her heart was racing and her throat was burning as indistinct shouting could be heard and she saw their feet come trudging right past the car.

When the stomping and shouting faded, she figured she was safe and was about to slide herself out, when she saw a pair of feet coming up to the car and held her breath. They stopped right in front of the car and the sound of jingling keys caught her attention.

"Oh no…" the owner of the car got in and started up the engine and Sunshine panicked and rolled over on her back, then took hold of whatever she could attached to the car as it started to go. She hung on for dear life, thanking the heavens the road was icy since her bottom half was being dragged because she couldn't wrap her legs around anything.

The road was awfully bumpy and car rattled violently, she started to feel nauseous and finally let go after holding on for about two blocks or so, skidding across the street in an X position and reminded her of the movie Bambi. 

"Well, that was fun!" she said to herself with obvious sarcasm when she came to a stop, sitting on the icy road and feeling like an idiot. "Hey, there she is!" snapping her head to the side, the gang members were running towards her and she jumped to her feet, slipped, then got up again and fled.

Several more cars parked ahead of her and, without a second thought, hopped up on one and ran across, then hopped on the one in front of that one, and so on and so on. When there were no more, she saw the streetlight, and jumped as high as she could to grab onto it.

__

Thud!

She ended up flat on her back on the concrete staring up at the gray sky, casting down snowflakes that fell lightly upon her face, sticking to her eyelashes and chapped lips. Dazed eyes fluttered shut as the thugs' dark figures surrounded her.

She could feel herself being dragged by her right arm to who-knows-where, but she didn't want to fight or open her eyes and the only thing she could concentrate on was the dull throbbing pain on her back. 

After weakly beating on the hand of whomever was dragging her for what seemed like forever, she felt her feet touch the concrete and her head being lifted. Opening her eyes, she saw the leader looking right back at her with a malicious glint in his eyes. His hand curled around her throat, cutting off air-supply.

"You beat me last time mutant," the others let her go while the leader lifted the small teen off her feet, "but I got backup now." "This little thing beat _you?!_" most of the other guys were laughing at him and commenting on him.

This angered him more and he tightened his grip around Sunshine's neck, whose cheeks were blue from lack of oxygen. As black dots danced across her vision she kicked upward as hard as she could, hitting the guy in the jaw and knocking him down, but taking her with him.

She punched him repeatedly in the chest and once in the nose while sucking in air greedily, flailing wildly when they ripped her off of him, a fist striking her cheek, a boot smashing into her stomach and her knees buckled, the too familiar thick warm liquid that was blood in her mouth.

She spun on one foot while crouched, sweeping-kicking two of them then getting to her feet and punching every face she could see, nostrils flared and adrenaline surging through her veins. I'm a bit rusty, she thought as a knife came down and slashed her forearm.

The mutant bit back a cry of pain; blows rained down upon her and she blindly swung her limbs about, kicking and hitting without regard or strategy, getting herself stabbed several times in the legs and her clothes ripped.

The leader finally managed to get a hold on her and pinned her up against the wall, the end of her nose getting scraped by the coarse brick wall. "Now, you gonna stay off my turf, or do me and my crew have to negotiate even more, freak?"

He breathed in her ear, resting his chin on her shoulder. "You know, you're kinda cute fo' a Street Rat…" his big cold hand wandered under her shirt, caressing her stomach while the other gripped her inner thigh. 

"N-no, please…" she tried to wriggle out of his grip, but she was too tired. She shivered at his touch when his hand rested on a rather odd lump on her backside, "Helloooo, what's this?" "It's nothing!" her energy quickly returned and she struggled with as much force as she could muster, finally breaking free of the leaders' grip.

"GO AWAY!" Sunshine then let out a loud and terrifying shriek that sounded more animal than human, freaking out the gang members. "Damn, let's get outta here!" there were gone in a flash, and she was left standing there, blood and saliva dripping off her quivering lips.

Tears welled in her eyes and she crumpled to the ground, convulsing rather violently as she hacked up about a handful of blood. The streets were completely empty, so there were no witnesses, and the small girl got on her side and into a fetal position.

Her tears flowed silently down her face as she hugged her knees to her chest, afraid to make a sound. She learned long ago back at the orphanage that if she let people hear her pain, she would only receive more pain.

After several minutes of lying there, she checked her wounds, most of them had stopped bleeding, though some only partly, and dragged her tired body into an alley. She found herself a small spot behind a few trashcans and sat there, thinking about nothing.

Nothing but dying thoughts.

"…And then you came. And, well, kinda saved me, sorta." Sunshine didn't look at Todd; she didn't want him to see the tears in her eyes. Pushing it all down, she took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.

She reassured him with a smile, wordlessly telling him that she would be fine, confused to see that his eyes brimmed with tears as well. Todd was saddened by her story, yet also greatly angered by the fact that some people would actually gang up on someone for pretty much no reason.

A loud buzz snapped the two out of their gloomy mood. "Ooh, my clothes are now washed!" Sunshine opened the washer and reached in, feeling around for her clothes, but felt something damp and stringy.

She pulled out her clothes, and they were now nothing more than strips of thread, looking similar to shredded paper. "Aww, crap!"

I hate washing machines. They steal my socks. Next chapter up sometime! (Hopefully soon ;;;;)


	5. I Can Eat Anything!

Just a nonsense chapter, getting to know the Brotherhood in their natural environment, and some of Sunshine's mutant abilities. How fun ^___^

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It was nine o' clock at night at the Brotherhood and everyone was in the living room, watching a scary movie that Lance had rented.

On the couch from left to right was Lance, Pietro, Sunshine, Todd, and Freddy was on the floor because the couch was too small, but he didn't mind since he had a big tub of popcorn. The movie was about a serial killer and had lots of gore and blood in it.

Sunshine was freaking out, fidgeting and shaking in her seat, biting her knuckle to keep herself from screaming in fright. "You're acting like a cocaine addict. Stop it." "G-go buy yourself a vowel skinny." 

She didn't like Pietro much even though she had just met him a few hours ago.

As the serial killer on the movie raised his machete to stab his next victim in the back, Sunshine squeaked, "Food!" and ran into the kitchen, not wanting to see any more blood for the day.

She leaned on the dirty counter and tried to regain her composure. She hated scary movies because they always gave her nightmares, and sometimes it was so bad that she wouldn't be able to sleep for weeks on end, fearing a homicidal maniac will gut her in her sleep.

"Hey 'Shine, you okay?" Toad asked from behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped a little from his touch, but saw that it was only he and smiled softly. "Y-yeah. I'm alright," he smiled back, not willing to tell her that horror flicks scared him as well.

Trying to uphold her excuse, she searched for anything edible in the lower cabinets, since she couldn't reach the higher ones. There was a buzzing in her ear and she shooed away the fly with her hand before she realized something. Food!

In a flash, she hand shot out and grabbed the fly, but also caught something wet and sticky. It was long and green, and her eyes followed it until they rested on Toad. It was…his tongue?! She let go of it and he sucked the insect back into his mouth, giving her a meek laugh, cringing.

She looked very surprised and he braced himself for the loud scream that was to come, but it never did. In it's place was a huge Cheshire cat grin and Sunshine gave a very enthusiastic, "Cool!" and hopped up and down on her feet.

"That is so cool!" she calmed herself and looked around, then padded over to him and whispered, "Can you do it again?" "Uh, sorry babe, but ya' hands taste like soap. No offense," 

"None taken." She had taken a shower earlier and enjoyed every minute of it. She hadn't had a decent shower or bath in months, and it felt good to wash off the entire dirt and blood that had caked on her skin and in her hair, as well as loosening taut muscles.

For some reason she had also brought duct-tape into the bathroom with her, but no one dared to question her. She renewed the wrappings on her hands as well.

Since the washer shred her only clothes, she had to wear a dark blue tee shirt of Blob's, that sank all the way to the floor and also slipped down and exposed her milky white shoulders. She tugged it back up for about the millionth time as she wiped the slime off her hand.

Many thoughts ran through her brain about what you could use Toad's tongue for, mainly swinging and grabbing onto things, but also several dirty thoughts that made her blush and roll her eyes in spite. She mentally kicked herself for thinking such things.

"You were thinking about my tongue weren't you?" "…Uh…um, yes. Sorry." Her cheeks grew even redder and she fiddled with her bangs. No sense in lying right? "Ah, it's okay. I get that a lot," he slurred slightly, watching his new housemate with much amusement. 

"I bet you're a real Casanova, no?" "Think ya just answered ya own question doll-face," Pet names. They always made her feel so awkward. "Please don't call me such names. They make me uncomfortable," 

Toad inwardly winced, silently berating himself for making her stay an unpleasant one, which also led to another thought of how to introduce Sunshine to Mystique, and to see if she could join the Brotherhood.

But he had to know something first. "What kind of mutant powers do you have?" instead of telling, she demonstrated by ripping off a cabinet door, then literally taking a bite out of it! "I ca' eet an'thin'!" she mumbled while she chewed, being mindful of splinters.

She giggled at Toad's bug-eyed expression, then saw a doorknob sitting on the counter and took it, biting off most of it, the sound of metal squeaking and she swallowed. "I can also bite through just about anything," "Can you bite through a person?" she heard Lance ask.

The other three Brotherhood members were standing there at the kitchen door, having seen Sunshine's mutant abilities. "What about a bank vault?" Pietro was behind her, then in front of her. "Can you eat security cameras?"

"Yes, yes and yes, but I've never have nor tried," "Is that all you can do?" Sunshine wanted to punch the silver-haired teen right between the eyes, but didn't want to risk being thrown back onto the streets and feigned a smile for him.

"I can do much more motor-mouth. Much more," she brushed past him and headed for the living room, but he was once again in front of her, "Why can't you show us now huh? Or is that really all ya got?" he ran a few circles around her to try and intimidate her, but she remained unfazed.

"Come on, scared or something?" catching the back of his shirt, she got right in his face as she opened her mouth in a gruesome snarl, showing that her top two front teeth and bottom were long and sharp as she let out a high thin hiss, looking like some kind of monster out of a horror picture.

"AAH!" Pietro disappeared and everyone laughed, especially Sunshine. "What, scared or something?!" she taunted, holding her stomach from laughing so hard, and then thought with a big smile, maybe her stay here won't be so bad.

"You know you're sleeping on the couch!" "ACK!"

Is Pietro hitting on here or what? O_o;; I leave that for you viewers to decide. 


	6. At The Mall

More nonsense with a side of stupidity! ^_^ Enjoy.

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"B-but I don't want to!" Sunshine whined as Lance practically dragged her down the slippery street, heading for the mall. He was not in the best of moods.

He just yanked her arm more when she tried to hold on to a streetlight, "Hey, if you wanna stay at The Brotherhood, you gotta make yourself useful." They finally stopped in front of the mall entrance and he released her.

"Alright, Pietro and Freddy, snag a few clothes and shakedown a few soda machines; Toad and Sunshine, pickpocket a couple o' saps and bite through some candy venders. We'll meet at the Food Court in twenty minutes,"

Everyone went their separate ways, and Sunshine went from angry, to confused, to scared, and ran to catch up with Toad who was heading for a large crowd and had already swiped several wallets. She clung to his arm when she got to him.

"Oh god, T-Todd, please don't run off like that!" She was nearly hyperventilating; crowds scared her. A lot. "Easy 'Shine, it's okay," he patted her back, surprised at how twitchy she's been all day. She got on Lance's bad side earlier this morning after he found the coffee table half-eaten, and also had to borrow some of his clothes.

She now wore a pair of blue jeans that were a little too long and were rolled up just below her ankles and a blue tee shirt with a forest green sweater over it. She had the hood up as not to attract anyone to her overly pale complexion.

"We'll be done and outta here in no time, k?" he lazily draped an arm over her shoulders as he snagged another wallet, stuffing it in his big brown trench coat he had on, then ushering the shaking girl off to the side and out of the crowd.

"You wanna stay here until I finish up?" his voice was low and soothing as he gently guided her to the wall near the restrooms and she wanted to melt at his touch and rested against the wall, visibly relaxing. Nodding, she watched as Toad disappeared into the crowd and sank to the floor.

She started to bite her nails after several people had come by and asked her if she was lost or needed help, but she would just shake her head or wave them off. She was definitely was not used to this kind of attention, or just plain attention.

"Being antisocial sucks," she thought aloud, looking down at the floor to see a shadow looming over her. "Do you need any help?" Sunshine gazed up to see a tall woman standing over her. She had long wavy red hair and was wearing a white sweater with red pants, and a perfect body.

"Are you lost?" the poor mutant had lost her voice upon seeing her. She had to admit, although she didn't 'swing that way', that the woman before her was gorgeous, and looked very sophisticated. Bright-confused green eyes stared into misty gray ones.

"N-n-n-no!" she stammered, putting her head down, hoping the woman did not get a good look at her. "Just waiting for my friend is all." "Oh. Well, alright then," the woman turned and was about to leave, when she bumped into, none other than, "Toad!!" "Jean!!" 

The two of them were so surprised to see each other they nearly fell backwards, but righted themselves and started a death-glaring contest. "Just what are _you _doing here?" the woman, who Toad had called 'Jean', demanded, balling her fists.

"Hey, it's a public mall ain't it?" He helped up Sunshine and started to move away, when the Jean woman put a hand on her shoulder. "You mean this slimeball is your friend?" "Slimeball no, friend yes…" the two of them walked away, the albino girl once again clinging to Toad.

She didn't mean to sound rude, but the slimeball comment really ticked her off. Moving his sleeve up, she ran her fingers along Todd's forearm. Although he did have a greenish tint to him, his skin certainly wasn't slimy.

It was rather smooth and soft, a bit mottled if you looked close enough, and absolutely delightful to run her fingers over. "Yo, uh…what are you doing?" she looked up to see he was looking at her in a funny way, his cheeks stained red.

"You are _not _slimy." They passed the candy machine and Sunshine chomped down on the left corner like butter, gulping down the thick plastic, giving her access to not only all the sweets she could ever dream of, but also the spot where all the quarters and dollars go.

Making sure no one was looking, Sunshine snatched up as many treats as she could, while Toad grabbed several handfuls of change and stuffed them in his coat pockets, then they hastily retreated before anyone suspects anything.

The punky mutant ate her candy in a matter of seconds, wrappers and all. "Damn, you really _can _eat anything can't ya?" "Heh heh, well, not having a sense of taste helps a lot," The amphibious teen quirked a brow.

"I only have three senses. Sight, touch, and hearing. I don't have taste or smell." "Prove it, squirt." She heard Lance from behind them and growled quietly, then, to verify her words, she lifted Toad's arm, then stuck her face right in his armpit and breathed deeply.

"See? Nothing." She turned to see a very ill looking leader, his face almost greener then Toad's. "Oh, sick!" he rushed into the bathroom to toss his cookies while the two laughed there heads off. When he came back out, Todd had said to him, "I just saw Jean. I think the others might be here as well."

Avalanche nodded. "I'll round up Pietro and Freddy; meet me back at the entrance." And then he was off. "T-Todd!" Sunshine yelped as he grabbed her hand and muscled his way through the crowd, elbowing quite a lot of people.

"What are we doing? I was just getting used to crowds!" "Jean is a member of a group called the X-men, and I really don't feel like being tossed through the air by her _mind_." X-men. That sounded so familiar, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it.

She knew it was going to drive her crazy as they stopped at the exit, where the rest of the group were waiting for them, and Lance was the first to speak, "So, Sunshine, you get any…?" he didn't have time to finish as she thrusted her remaining goods into his hands.

She felt bad for stealing it, but she had done it so many times in the past that guilt never plagued her mind for very long. He muttered a small thanks before Sunshine said calmly, "Alright, quid pro quo Lance. Who are the X-men?"

"Bunch a guys…bunch a girls…bunch a mutants…" he really didn't feel like explaining and headed out the door, the rest following, yet she stayed put. "Okay, you don't wanna tell me, I'll find the Jean person and she'll tell me!" 

She then dashed back into the crowd, instantly blending in and Toad was about to go after her, but Lance yanked him back. "Let her go. She knows where the boarding house is. I really don't care." He looked passive. He didn't want her to come back. 

"No! I'm going after her!" the greenish punk then disappeared as well. He had finally found a friend, and he wasn't about to lose her now.

Blurred colors swaying confusedly with the droning sound with people, all talking at once and uneven, almost frantic panting.

Sunshine was weaving her way through the crowds of people at a maddening pace, tuning out all the noises around her. Curiosity always ate away at her self-control. It was a strong, burning desire that can only be quenched by satisfaction.

And that satisfaction was to know whom the X-men were. To her, it sounded like some kind of secret group; a secret group or club of mutants perhaps? Like the Brotherhood, or even an unknown society! The thought made her squeal in utter delight.

Right before she ran into a pole. Curiosity also ate her awareness and common sense. She cursed quietly, rubbing the head with the rough bandages wrapped around her hands and wrists. She was more than happy to redress them, since her old bandages were pretty worn out.

She saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye. "Jean-woman!" she called out after confirming that it was, indeed, Jean. Sunshine tilted her head down and rammed her way through the jungle of teens and sweaters, finally catching the person she had been seeking.

"May…" she panted, "I have a…word…with you?" bewildered as well as confused and oddly curious, she pardoned herself from her friends and followed the girl till they were alone behind a few potted plants.

Making sure her face was covered; Sunshine turned to the fiery redhead. "I have recently heard a rumor that you, Jean, are an active member of something called the X-men," she tried to sound as polite as possible. If she wanted answers, she would have to at least _sound _like a decent person.

"My curiosity has requested that it must know, who are the X-men?" Jean's blood had run cold and she appeared quite stunned. This had never happened before. A complete stranger just wandered up to her and knew about her secret life?

But then she remembered that this girl was a friend with Toad and scowled. "Well, you see, the X-men are—" "Jean!" a friend of hers called out, blonde-headed male. Boyfriend perhaps? "Hurry up or we're going to the movies without you!" she waved over to them and handed Sunshine a card.

"I can't explain now, just come to this address and you'll get your answer," with that done she dashed off to join her friends. Sunshine watched her fleeting form until she was completely gone with a blank stare and a twitching eye.

"I hate belated answers!" she screamed before stomping back away, not caring about all the odd looks she was getting. "Whatcha yellin' about Street Rat?" she growled at the voice in her ear and shoved Pietro with her elbow.

"Why do you care Quickie?" she turned to him, but he was now behind her again, hands on her shoulders. "I don't, I just wanted to—" 

"If you don't care about me then don't bother me!" 

"Ugh, whatever," Sunshine felt his hands were now gone and started on her way again.

It wasn't long before there was another pair of hands resting on her shoulders once again and spun around, ready to sink her teeth into someone's neck, but gasped when she saw that it was Toad, looking concerned and slightly afraid from the harsh look he got.

"I-I heard you scream. What's wrong?" the albino teen looked down at the card in her hand and shoved it in her back pocket. "Nothing. Screaming about nothing…" she bowed her head, feeling ashamed for acting so childish just moments ago.

Licking his dry lips, Toad opened his arms and Sunshine pitifully walked into them, accepting his hug yet not returning it. She was tired and wanted to go back to her hopefully permanent home; guilt usually drained her energy pretty quick. 

"Can we just go…" a hesitant pause. "h…home…?" Toad furrowed his brows, worried about her mood change, but figured he shouldn't ask and patted the girls' dirty blonde head, smiling gently.

"Yeah, we can do that. Let's get outta here," the duo strode to the exit, but Sunshine wondered where the rest of the Brotherhood were and scanned the area visually, and spotted Lance talking to a rather girlish girl with her brown hair up in a high ponytail.

Toad looked back as well and just shook his head and smirked. "Let him go. He knows his way back to the boarding house." 

----------- 

Wow, this chapter was pretty long compared to the others. I was thinking of making it a 2 part thing, but then it sounded stupid so I didn't. Sorry for not updating very often, but I am in the middle of moving, so I barely have time for writing ;;;


	7. Hiatus

Okay, I'm FINALLY back from camp and we just hooked up our computer at my new house, so I'm writing yet again. Hey, I wasn't gonna leave everybody hangin'! Ha Enjoy

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A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the Brotherhood house followed by a loud crash. "Aw, dammit!" Toad yelled, flat on his back under the now upturned couch. "It wasn't_ that_ scary!"

Sunshine, who stood by the wall nearest to the couch, smiled sheepishly at him. They were having a horror movie marathon, since neither was interested in Christmas flicks, and it was already nine o'clock at night.

When the killer on the screen brought down his clawed glove-covered hand onto his victim, Sunshine had freaked and jumped up so fast and forceful from the couch, she had broken one of its legs and accidentally caused it to flip over right onto poor Todd.

She helped him up and put the sofa back into its rightful place, though it was now at a slight angle because of it's broken leg. "Jeez, you're destructive," the green teenager bantered, turning off the television and sitting back down.

His small friend gave a quiet chuckle and whispered, almost forlornly, "Yeah, I know…" she was glad that no one was home but the two of them, since the others were all out partying. The room was completely dark without the glow of the TV, and opened the curtains before joining Todd on the couch.

Beams of moonlight shone down upon the two as they turned to one another and stared into each others eyes, a strange yet calming aura surrounding them as time seemed to stop dead in its tracks. "Todd…" Sunshine spoke softly, "Please, tell me about yourself. How did you end up here? Why did you come here? What's your past like?"

He stared at her for a moment, his golden eyes darkening as the words sunk in and he looked away. "Ah, you don't wanna hear all that stuff. I don't wanna bore you--" he felt her small hands grip his and met her fervent gaze.

"Todd, you have taken me in. You have provided food, shelter, clothing, and even someone to spend the holiday with," She scooted closer to him as she continued vehemently, "You have done more for me in just a few days than any other person I have ever come in contact with.

The least I can do is listen to what you have to say." He bowed his head and took a breath. "Well, I ran away from home cause of serious family problems. My mother was drunk as usual……"

-------------

Giddy, drunken laughter and noisy distorted jazz filled Todd's tiny ears as he lay in his bed, staring at the bedside clock bitterly that blinked '3:06' in big red numbers.

He turned over and covered his head with his pillow, trying to block out all the nonsense that was keeping him awake, as well as the mental images: his mother dancing gracelessly across the living room with a random man, a bottle of whiskey in her hand, of course, with a smile on her face.

When the music finally faded and the full-blown hee-hawing had quieted down to a few giggles every now and then, the two of them would go to the couch, where the man would feel her up. Todd whimpered from the images he was getting. They always scared him.

Tears spilled over his cheeks and dampened his pillow when he heard the all too familiar squeaking of his moms' bed and muffled moaning. He quietly cried until the horrible sounds had died. How he hated them.

He hated hearing those sinful sounds of lust every single night.

He hated all the men that took advantage of his mother.

He hated his mother for being so careless.

He hated his father the most. About a three years ago, after a heated argument with his mother, his father had left. That was the last time he saw him. Although Todd had been happy when he left, since he was not much of a father, or husband.

Not only was he a problem drinker _and _smoker, but he also abused his powers as 'man of the house' rather terribly. He had used Todd's college money to buy himself a new car and clothes, and had always argued with his mom over everything.

Once he had even heard him talking about taking 'that freakish no-good kid' to the orphanage, and on several occasions smacked him rather hard across the face. Little Todd had gotten him back for that though.

Taking a pair of shoelaces from some old sneakers, Todd tied them together and stapled them on the doorframe, where his father would trip on them.

Smiling lightly, he got out of bed and went into the kitchen where he poured himself a glass of milk, but unknown to him, he was being watched. "Huh, I thought your mom would have given you up by now." The young teen was so startled by the voice he dropped his glass and it shattered into a million pieces.

He spun around to see a pair of eyes staring back at him. "Guess she's still too oblivious to see you're a mutant."

It was he. His Father.

He was sitting at the table, completely concealed by the darkness. Except for his eyes, which seemed to illuminate an evil aura and a small shiver ran up Todd's spine. "It took me a while myself. I always thought you were just ugly and had birth defects…"

He stood up. "Seems being a mutant is the latest craze. Ugh, you young people," he spat disgustedly, advancing on his son, who was frozen in place, shaking visibly. "Who would of thought? Someone of MY genes, a mutant?!"

Jumping at the increase of volume in his fathers' voice, Todd stumbled back, accidentally stepping on the many shards of glass from the broken cup and fell. Tears welled in his eyes as he desperately ripped them out of his feet, his father still coming toward him.

Grabbing the young teen by the shirt, he lifted him off his feet with ease. 'Steroids?' The question flitted through Todd's mind before he realizes his fathers' fist cocking back and, without thinking he kicked out a bloody foot and nailed the beast square in the chest.

Having the air suddenly forced out of his lungs, he unnoticeably dropped his son and clutched his chest, trying to force himself to breathe while Todd limped to his room, where he locked the door then pressed his back against it.

The stabbing pain in the soles of his feet was nearly unbearable and he briefly glanced down at the crimson footprints staining the hardwood floor before he jumped from the awful pounding on his door.

"Your kind should go back to the bowels of hell where you belong!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The thumping was getting louder and fiercer by the second and Todd wasn't sure how long he could hold him off as the dreadful sound of wood cracking and splintering and he feared this would be the end of his short life…

…And then, it stopped.

All was quiet. No yelling, no pounding, no animal-like grunts. Just sweet, sweet silence.

The soft sound of a door squeaking open broke the blissful calm. A gasp that was clearly from his mom, an angered shout from supposedly the man whom she had just slept with followed by a small 'click'.

His heart leapt up into his throat when a gunshot rang out through the night and his mother screamed. "Mommy!!" he yelled, gathering up all his courage as he threw open his badly-damaged door and ran to his mom and hugged her with all his might.

He looked down at the body that lay at his feet, blood pouring out onto the floor from the fatal head wound, but thankfully his mother was unhurt, though frozen in place with shock. His father laughed lowly as he cocked his gun.

He started to lumber towards the two, his body swaying somewhat drunkenly (probably getting high off their fear) as Todd's mother clutched her little boy protectively. "I won't let you hurt my baby!" with a sudden wave of bravery, she made a bold move and kicked the gun out of his hand.

As the pistol skidded across the floor, she punched him in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain, giving her the edge to bash him in the back of the head with her fists. She grabbed her son and ran into the living room as his father started to get up.

Plopping him down on the couch, she grabbed him a coat and helped him put it on, since he was in such a shocked state, and put a pocketknife into his hand as she put on his shoes for him. "M-mommy, w-w-what's happening?"

She kneeled down in front of him, fussing with his jacket, "It's gonna be okay baby, I promise." She picked him up and carried him to the front door, "Run. Run as far away from here as possible and don't look back!"

She kissed him on the forehead as tears fell freely from her eyes and he nodded and turned to leave, but glanced over his shoulder at her, knowing it would be the last time that he would ever see her.

"Mommy…?"

"Yes dear?"

"…. I don't hate you…"

Todd then ran off into the cold, cold world and he felt his heart break as a gunshot was heard.

"…And then I kinda lived at the school for a while, but nobody knew." Toad let out a long shuddering breath, feeling somewhat relieved now that he had gotten that off his chest.

"Where did you sleep?" Sunshine asked, gently tracing his hand with her thumbnail, being extra careful with the webbing between his fingers. He laughed lightly. "I slept in the basketball hoops in the gym."

"I bet you got rude awakenings when people would throw basketballs at you!" The albino said, trying to shake off the uneasiness his story brought her.

The two mutants looked each other in the eye after a long pause, and, with tears in their eyes and their cruel pasts finally settled, laughed themselves to sleep, each feeling a little bit freer.

------------------

I don't know of Todd's past, and I don't think anybody else does, but I DO have a small bit of evidence that he lived with his parents, or at least his mom, cause on one episode he told somebody something that he said his mama told him once.

Yeah, so I created his past for him. Sorry I've been away for soooooo long, but I'm writing again, so, it's all good


	8. Rats!

Jeez, WRITER'S BLOCK SUCKS BIG TIME. But at last, the next chapter! Haha!

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Sunday was a very hectic day for the poor albino mutant. Mystique had made an unexpected visit to the boarding house and had judged Sunshine like a piece of meat as she circled around her, instantly disliking what she saw.

She didn't like the shape-shifter very much either, growling softly whenever the woman glanced her way. The two then got into a very heated argument over Toad, Mystique calling him and Sunshine 'worthless, dirty, pitiful excuses for mutants', and the smaller female mutant countered her with how not to judge people, and that Toad had saved her and brought her in.

When Mystique ordered her leave the Brotherhood at once, she gave the scaly woman the bird. Mystique backhanded her and stormed out of the boarding house, muttering death threats as she morphed into a crow and flew away.

It was half past noon by the time Sunshine had snuck out and made her way over to " Xavier's Mansion of Cool Stuff " she called it.

The students there were kind and polite to her, and openly showed off their mutant abilities, each more stunning than the last. The most interesting mutant there, to her accord, was a goofy German boy who they called Nightcrawler.

He had elfish ears and blue fur covering his whole body, and even a prehensile tail; he could even teleport! There was also a girl who could walk through walls, a boy who shot beams from his eyes, and a very intimidating man that had retractable metal claws, who just snarled at her when she introduced herself.

They had shown her the whole mansion, including the very lavish bedrooms, where she had politely dived headfirst into the pillows, and afterwards showed her the training room.

After much cajoling, Xavier finally let her try it out, and with the help of the Jean woman and Scott guy, made it out alive, though feeling very small and weak, considering her skills were dwarfed by their awesome powers.

Of course, she did feel better when she remembered she broke several machines with _her_ mutant abilities.

And then she was introduced to Cerebro, which intrigued her quite a bit. Cerebro could locate _any _mutant on earth? Did he locate her when she used her powers while at the mall? Is that why they let her just waltz in here with their full trust?

At the end of the tour, Xavier walked—er, wheeled her to the gate and asked if she wanted to join them, catching her off-guard, where she just babbled incoherently. He told her to think about it, and Sunshine said her goodbye and gave him a hug.

She then remembered it was nearly Christmas and she didn't have anything for Toad! She searched her pockets. Ten dollars, mostly in change. She had to get something cheap, and went to an overcrowded store and bought a small gift that was just perfect! She'll hide it when she gets home.

While walking back to the boarding house, she ran into several thugs who tried to mug her, but she didn't have any cash on her and fighting was the last thing she wanted to do, so she ran and scrambled up a tree in the park.

It was nearly dark by the time she got home, and was now quietly snoozing on Blob's belly while he lay on his back watching TV. "Yes-sir-ee, Santa's coming tomorrow night!" the man on the tube blared, awakening Sunshine who rolled over onto the floor.

"Thanks Freddy," she mumbled sleepily as she rolled off him and dragged herself into the kitchen, getting a drink from the sink faucet, not noticing that Todd, Lance and Pietro were at the table playing cards. "Jeez Street Rat, what is that _lump _in your pants?"

Pietro asked, laughing slightly. "Yeah really, you not toilet-trained or something?" Lance joined in, the two of them chortling while Toad growled under his breath. "None of yer business chuckle-heads," she scoffed, trying to reach the upper cabinets.

"Oh I'm _sooo _scared," the speedster sneered. A silver blur whooshed past her, followed by the sound of tape ripping. Everyone's eyes widened to the size of saucers at the long pink tail sticking out of Sunshine's pants.

Lance cursed loudly in surprise while Pietro laughed rather evilly and called Freddy in so everyone can gawk at it. "So that's why you had the duct-tape…" one of them mused, but the albino teen was red from head to toe, sweat beading on her forehead from the intensity of her blush as she futilely tried to hide her extra appendage with her hands.

Her embarrassment quickly dissipated though, and in its place was anger. Vein-popping, blood-boiling anger. She faced the silver-headed menace, which was still in fits of giggles, and backhanded him with all her might. "You dare you!!" she spat, kicking him in the groin, then bashing him in the back of the head with her elbow when he doubled over in pain.

He groaned in agony as he hit the floor, curling into a fetal position, cupping his wounded jewels. "Urgh…. sorry…or ….something…." "You know, dude, it's really not that big of a deal," Sunshine mumbled to him, her anger dying completely as she dragged him into the living room and onto the couch, saying rather sarcastically, "Oh my god! I have a tail!" she went monotone. "Ugh, whoop-de-frikken-do."

"It's just you don't see many people with tails, yo" Toad said from behind her, patting her back. She nodded in agreement. "I also have fur, if ya haven't noticed…" the girl extended her arm so he could look closely, and sure enough, she did!

"Thing is, it's so short that it looks and feels like normal skin, just uh….lighter," she paused for a moment, "…I'm pink in the places that don't have fur."

"Is that an invitation?" Lance cackled as he shoved Sunshine and Toad into each other, making their foreheads smack together and clutched onto one another to avoid losing balance. The two of them blushed at the close contact and the taunting of the other three Brotherhood members.

"A Rat and a Toad," Freddy chortled.

"A match made in heaven!" Lance exclaimed as Pietro joined in, "Or hell!"

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I had NO motivation whatsoever for this chapter. Sorry if it's boring, but I'm running low on inspiration Xx


	9. Hunted

ARGH! My computer's being stupid. It's been down FOR-E-VER! I'm sorry this story is taking so long ;;;

"She really didn't seem to like you,"

"I can deal. No one ever does,"

"I think she wants you outta here."

"And dead. Don't forget dead."

"Yo, 'Shine! This is serious!" Toad yelled to the carefree Sunshine, who was lazily stretched out on the now somewhat leveled couch while he sat on the floor.

"I'm not afraid of her! If she wants a battle to the death with me, I'm not taking a dive!"

"Maybe we can find you a little abandoned house and you can lay low—"

"No! I want to stay here. Don't you want me here?"

"Of course I do 'Shine, but I don't wanna see you get hurt or nothin'…"

The rodent girl sighed and reached out to hug Todd, falling off the sofa in the process and landing in his lap. "I can take her," was her muffled reply, "She's not so scary……" she yawned and buried her head into his sweater, drifting off to sleep.

Toad slumped his shoulders and patted her head, trying not to think about what Mystique might do to her.

It was not even five minutes later Lance came stomping into the living room, setting a death glare on the sleeping form.

"**RAT!!!**" the no longer sleeping form jolted awake from the sudden screech, accidentally hitting her head on Toad's chin, causing him to bite his tongue. "Ow!" the two said in unison, looking over at a very bloody and very pissed off Lance.

The whole house was shaking, furniture bouncing out of place and plaster falling from the ceiling as he marched over to the girl, who shrank back in fear, wondering if she should make a run for it.

She made a break for the door, but unfortunately didn't make it as the earthquake-maker grabbed her by the collar of her sweater, choking her and slamming her up against the wall. "That overgrown housecat is on his way here and he is intent on killing you!"

Sunshine was very confused as she stared at the boy, but glanced over at Todd and saw that he as white as she was, standing up and forcing his wobbly legs to run to her side, shoving Lance off the poor girl.

The ground started to rumble again as the supposed 'leader' of the Brotherhood grabbed the amphibious boy and literally threw him across the room, creating yet another dent in the already badly damaged wall. He turned his attention back to the quavering rodent teen. "That creep attacked me and said Mystique told him to kill you. I shouldn't have let you stay here!" He looked over his shoulder, "Why did you have to bring her here Toad huh?!"

"I-I-I couldn't 'ave j-just left her there—"

"That's not a good enough answer!" Lance slung Sunshine over his shoulder and walked outside, where it had began to snow quite heavily. He set her down and calmly told her, "You can fight, or you can hide, but you can't do it here. I want you to stay away from here got it?

You're a good kid, but you don't belong here. Mystique wants you dead, and Creed's the one to do the job. You stay here and you're cat food you hear me? So get lost!" he turned on his heel and headed inside. "Come on Toad,"

"Screw you!" Alvers whipped back around, staring at the green mutant with such surprise he didn't realize he was practically gawking at him. "What did you say?" "You heard me!" Tolansky shouted maliciously, pulling Sunshine close to him, though she was currently rather zoned out; probably in deep thought.

"She's not fighting alone! Sunshine's the only person in the world who seems to give a damn about me, and I'm _not _gonna just stand here while you throw her in the frikken streets! So you can just kiss my green ass, yo!!"

He threw his house key at Alvers and stormed down the street with his arm wrapped around Sunshine's shoulders. The young girl finally found her voice after they were about several blocks away. "Wha…why d-d-di…." Her lips were numb and her tongue heavy as she tried to form the words.

"Why did I do that just now?" he finished for her. She nodded absently. "'Cause I care about you, yo. You accept me for who I am, and I accept you for who you are. You don't just hear what I have to say; you _listen _to what I have to say."

He chuckled softly at his own words, "You also seem to care about _what _I say. You and me, we're a good team. Hand-in-Hand, Back to Back, Double Trouble, Daunting Duo, Tag Team you could call us. We go well together. We're the outcasts.

Together we are strong, we are noble, we are—"

"…family…"

He looked down and stared into those teary gray eyes of hers, and Todd knew just how deeply that single word meant to the two of them. It touched him, deeply, for her to consider him as family, so much so that his eyes started to well up with tears.

They both choked back a sob as they tried to smile at one another and let a few tears slip down their frozen cheeks. Noticing they had stopped, they started down the sidewalk again, the harsh wind to their backs.

It started to snow even harder and the wind more fierce; so loud it prevented them from hearing, and seeing, anything around them, and they had to hold hands so they wouldn't lose one another.

He watched his prey from atop a nearby building, a feral growl emitting from his throat. Although he could not _see_ her very well through the storm, he could certainly _smell _her. He sniffed the piece of clothing, a bit of her jeans, that Mystique had given him after showing him to huge sum of money that she would reward him with upon Sunshine's death.

"The is gonna be _easy_," he assured himself as he leapt off the building, that sweet taste of a girls' blood already on his tongue.

I never saw enough episodes with Creed in them, so I'm not sure if he is OOC or not. Again I apologize for making you guys wait so long for this freakin' story to be over and done with!


	10. The Hunt Is On, Part 1

All right, finally I got some work done on this. It's almost over!

"So why didn't you join up wit' them? Their place is a lot nicer than ours is…"

"'Cause then I wouldn't be with you guys!"

"But they all suck! Except for Freddy, he's cool,"

"Yeah…I mean, the place was nice, but it just didn't feel like a home. Just a house with various people in it. More like roommates then family ya know?" Sunshine's voice was airy and nonchalant as she peeled off the wrappings on her arms and hands.

There was no trace of any of the cuts and bruises she had gotten over a week ago, Todd had noticed. He figured she had a rapid healing factor like Wolverine from the X-Geeks.

"So, who's this Creed guy Lance was talking about?" she asked as she pushed her sleeves back down. "He's an assassin, plain and simple. He is a _killing machine! _A _crazy_ killing machine!"

"What'd you call me?" a deep voice growled from behind them, causing an icy chill to run up their spines as the two cautiously turned their heads. A figure was crouched down several feet behind them, with some sort of cape or coat flapping in the deafening wind.

The figure stood up to their full height, which was at least seven feet and lumbered towards Sunshine, who was frozen in place as she tried to make out the face of the man. The figure towered over her, giving her a deep, throaty growl before slowly raising his arm, claws extended…

"SUNSHINE, RUN!!" Toad screamed and pushed her out of the way just in time, though took the blow and now had a torn sweater and several gashes across his right side, fortunately not very serious wounds.

Sunshine took off, blindly running through the winter wonderland hell before her, hearing the man on her toes, who she now guessed was Creed.

Fueled by fear and guided by instinct, she knew she would either have to run and hide, or stand up and fight. Of course, she would have to be able to _see _him to do so. Her pants, or rather Lance's pants which she borrowed, were starting to slip and she tried to yank them back up, but tripped and fell on her face.

Victor attempted to grab her, but she quickly rolled onto her back and kicked him in the chin. He stumbled backwards and managed to grab Sunshine's leg and lifted her off the ground and held her upside down in front of his face.

"Mystique wanted me to kill _this _scrawny thing?" he grumbled, but the albino just rolled her eyes. "Does she make you kill everybody that stands up to—" her sentence was cut off as the assassins' hands shot out and wrapped around her throat.

She felt him starting to pull her head back and she knew he was going to attempt to break her neck. His thumb was placed under her chin and she got a small idea, and quickly turned her head to the side, causing his thumb to slip onto her cheek.

She chomped down on his thumb and he let out a yell, swinging his arm with her still attached. He slammed her down on the ground and the wind was knocked out of her and she let go of him, though she ripped off a bit of his skin.

It grew back almost instantly however and Sunshine whimpered, thinking one of her ribs broke when she hit the pavement. Victor lifted his heavy boot and nearly stomped on her, but Toad appeared in the niche of time and pulled her up just as his boot came down.

The beast growled, but the amphibious teen did not cower and stood his ground as Creed swung his fist at him, but he ducked and tried to punch him in the gut, but got his move blocked. Pretty soon punches and crude remarks were flying.

"The girl's mine, Swamp-Breath!"

"She don't belong to no one, ya mangy feline!"

Victor had had it with the green boy and kicked him in the stomach and watched him double over and fall to the ground. He saw Sunshine's retreating form and went after her, his eyes filled with rage as he bounded after his prey on all fours.

The girl was running blindly through the streets, dodging cars that were slowly making their way along the icy roads. She rounded the corner and was met with some heavy traffic and had to weave her way through the whole mess.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw her hunter leaping over cars and was only about two car-lengths behind her and was getting closer to her with each passing second. He jumped off another car and everything seemed to go in slow motion, Matrix-style.

His shadow cast over her; he was above her. A car was right in front of her; she had nowhere to go. In a nanosecond's decision, she took a dive just as Creed swiped at her, his claws whooshing past the back of her head, so close in fact several strands of her hair were lopped off.

She went sliding under the car and out the back as Victor landed in the back of a pickup truck, making the front-end pop up, the driver honking his horn and cursing angrily, but he ignored the man and pounced onto his hood, denting it.

He spotted the girl scrambling under another car and lunged at her, but she was already on the other side. Furious, Sabertooth grabbed the underside of the car and was about to flip it over and crush her!

Sunshine shrieked in fear and covered her head as it fell on top of her. The owner of the vehicle was knocked unconscious and the beast thought his work was done.

"Tough little Rat, you were," he mused and was about to walk away, when the mutant girl leaped out of the sunroof, her tail out, and sprinted down the nearest alleyway on all fours, sliding and running in place for a moment as she rounded the corner.

The assassin about roared in frustration and again, went after the girl. The alley prevented snow from drifting through it so now he could actually _see _what the heck he was doing. He saw no trace of her, but caught a glimpse of pink on the roof to one of the buildings.

He clambered up the stairwell and Sunshine was hoping to find a door, a staircase, _something_ to aid in her escape; but alas, it seemed like a dead-end for the poor freak. She could hear her killer clumsily moving up the stairwell, as it could not support his weight very well.

The building next to her was at least a ten-foot jump away, and she wasn't sure if she could jump that far.

At least not with these pants on.

She hooked her thumbs into the belt-loops and ripped them off of her. Of course, she had on a black pair of spandex shorts underneath them, which she got from Pietro's closet. She had cut a hole in them as well for her tail to stick out.

"Dudes' gotta be fruity," she looked over her shoulder, seeing her killer coming at her, then ahead of her.

She kicked it into overdrive and jumped to the next roof, just barely making it. She kept running, as she knew Sabertooth probably had no trouble whatsoever roof-hopping.

As much as it killed her, she leaped to the next rooftop, her foot slipping on the very edge, but she did not fall and kept going. The two of them roof-hopped at least ten buildings, and while Victor was not even out of breath, Sunshine was running out of steam.

Her short legs could only carry her so far while running, as she had to work harder than people do with longer legs. The world was starting to dim and she fell short on her next jump, dropping to the ground and landing on some trashcans.

She hit the side of her head and blood started dripping down her face, but the good thing was she did not get knocked out, because here comes her assassin!

Groggily getting to her feet, she went out the alley and slowly ran to somewhere, anywhere she could hide or rest for a moment of two. The snowstorm wasn't her life any easier either. Just as she went past an abandoned old car parked on the sidewalk, someone grabbed her tail and pulled her in the car.

A hand clamped over her mouth as she was plopped down in the persons' lap and she was about to fight, when they whispered, "Yo, take it easy 'Shine. I don't bite," relieved at hearing Toad's voice, she relaxed against him.

She silently thanked the stars she was in a car, which blocked her smell from Creed as he went by, cursing very loudly the whole time. Toad was in silent alarm as he pointed at her face. She just nodded and dabbed the crimson off her face with her sleeve.

She pointed to his side as well, where his sweater was ripped, exposing three gashes over his ribs. Without thinking, she ripped off her sleeve and tied it around his wound to stop it from bleeding. "Listen 'Shine, I'll keep him busy while you get outta here, k?"

"But we're supposed to be in this together aren't we?"

"Yes, but he's not gonna stop until he kills you!"

"So what do I do, run off and hide for the rest of my life?!"

"I wasn't saying that…"

"Good, cause I got an idea!" Feeling completely recharged; she opened the door and got out. "Go to the bridge and wait for me!" She took off down the road, heading for the bridge, which, of course, _had _to be on the other side of the biggest freaking hill in the city!

So far this has been one of the most fun chapters I've written. I have to make it into two or more parts though. Hope that's okay!


	11. Sled Race

Although this is only like, not even a page long, the ending to this story has to have about several different chapters because it's a longer. The next chapter (which may be the last!) will be much longer!

She knew Sabertooth would eventually catch on to her scent so she trudged up the hill at her own pace, since it both sides were at least a half-mile long. It took about fifteen minutes when she finally reached the top.

She heard a roar from behind her and saw Victor quickly coming toward her and nearly panicked. There was a big Dumpster in front of a Chinese restaurant. With a few moments to spare before he was close enough to get her, she rummaged through the enormous amount of junk.

Spotting a handle, she got a hold of it and pulled it out to discover it was a giant wok. Grinning, she got a head start and ran, jumping into the wok and actually using it as a sled! She laughed wildly as she watched him fall further and further behind. She was hauling butt now!

But her triumph was short-lived, as Sabertooth was now gaining on her, using his cape as a makeshift sled as well. He was coming right up behind her, so she held the handle with one hand and leaned her body to the left.

As she went to the left, he tried to do the same, but pretty much had no steering ability with his cape, but he was able to get over a little bit. He wished he could pounce on her and rip her throat out, but he if were to now they would probably crash.

He was nearly an arm length away from her and she yelped in fear, trying to get over some more. However, the mutant girl was so preoccupied in trying to get away, she did not see the huge pile of ice and snow that was dumped there by a snowplow earlier.

She did not notice it until the last second and screamed, pulling up on the handle of her 'sled'. The wok reared up and the pile acted as a ramp and she went sailing into the air! Amazingly, she landed and kept going, sparks flying everywhere and the horrible sound of metal scraping against the pavement.

She had gone a good thirty feet before landing into a construction site right by the bridge. There was a stack of cement pipes to her right and climbed into the highest one. She peeked out and saw Creed searching for her, sniffing the air every few moments.

She thanked the stars she was downwind and laid down on her stomach as she watched him, wiping the sweat from her brow. She was starting to get a little lightheaded after a few moments and her vision was blurring.

Trying her best to fight it, she finally gave in and closed her eyes…


	12. Tooth and Nail Part 1

Okay, this is a long chapter, so I gotta break it up a bit. Here's part one!

A gust of wind blew into Sunshine's face, forcing her to stir. Opening her eyes, she looked out over the construction site. She faintly wondered how long she was out.

"Okay, lets' see…I went up the hill, down the hill, over some snow, then in here…" she pondered for a moment, "I was chased being by---Creed!" no sooner than the name fell from her lips a hand grabbed her tail and raked her back to him.

Sabertooth leaped out of the pipe, Sunshine in hand, and slammed her down onto the frozen dirt. Sunshine grunted as she was being spun around, then flung through the air as she was let go of. She was hurled through the back of a cranes' operative seat, crashing through the glass window.

She let out a pained cry as she landed on her back right onto the gearshifts and broke the other window with her head. Open cuts and scrapes were dotted across nearly every visible inch of skin, but she was at least thankful there were no glass shards she had to yank out.

She turned over on her stomach and crawled out of the broken window and started to clamber up the neck of the crane. That beast of a man! Why could he not just leave her be?

Victor groaned in frustration and sat down in the crane, wiping off the glass shards first though, and started messing with the gears. A little shifting of the gears, a few buttons pushed, and he had the thing up and running.

She was about half way to the top when the crane creaked and shuttered and Sunshine cursed softly as it started to move. It turned slowly, though that did not help her from freaking out, but she continued to climb upwards to get herself as far away from that beast as possible.

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, holy crap…" she repeated, looking over her shoulder to see Creed coming after her. He left the crane in gear, so they were still spinning, and quickly getting faster. The bitter wind blew her hair into her face, but she had no time to pull it back in a ponytail; not when she has someone on her tail!

She had finally reached the top, but alas, a dead-end. "Unless…" Pulling her sleeves up over her hands, she grabbed the steel cable and slid down it just as Creed swiped at her, catching the back of her sweater, but it ripped and once again escaped from his clutches.

Suspended on the cable was one of the big cement tubes she had accidentally fallen asleep in, and attempted to get inside it, but as soon as she put her foot toward one end, the other side slightly dipped up.

So, she had no choice but to hang on and think of a way to get back on the ground.

He looked down at his prey with blazing amber eyes, completely open and vulnerable, licking his dry lips. Without a moment of hesitation he jumped, having a good three-second fall before landing onto the pipe so hard he rocketing Sunshine into the air.

She came back down hard on her stomach, making her nearly toss her breakfast, but was glad she did not fall to her death, as they were still spinning. She was on the far end of the pipe while Sabertooth stood in the middle, hanging on to the cable while glaring at her.

It was at least fifteen feet across, so she was safe for the time being. She cautiously stood up, thanking the stars she had above sense of balance, but she knew now was not the time to get cocky. Then her attacker got a small thought and smirked at the albino.

Letting the cable go, he took a small step toward her, causing the pipe to tip. Squeaking, she leaned forward as much as she could, trying not to step forward. He took another step and the soles of Sunshine's shoes were scraping against the concrete as she started slipping backwards.

If he got any closer she would surely fall to her death!

She dropped to her knees, but was still sliding back so she got on her stomach and hugged the pipe as best as she could, as the pipe was nearly vertical now. "Stop it!" she yelled at him, but he ignored her pleas and reached down to grab her.

How was he not falling?!

He tried to grab her by the hair, but she tucked her head into her chest and started to bite into the concrete. She finally chewed a hole big enough for her hand to fit through, and that is exactly what its purpose was.

Sticking her right hand in it, she closed her eyes and let the rest of her body go lax. There's no way he could reach her now!

Sabertooth cursed to himself as he tried to seize her hand, but she was out of reach, and if he leaned down any more he would surely fall. He backed up until the pipe was level again, causing Sunshine's arm to nearly pop out of the socket as she was hanging over the side, forcing her arm to be a little _too _straight.

When he got to the cable, he jumped back and flung the rodent girl into the air. He tried to watch her fall to her death, but he had to wait till the crane swung back around. "Ha ha!" he heard her laugh and looked to see where she was.

She was standing on a beam on the bridge, chuckling to herself. She could see the whole city from where she stood, and it was absolutely breathtaking. It was dusk and every light and every Christmas decoration was on and lit up the sparkling snow with delightful shades of reds, blues, greens and yellows.

Definitely a sight to behold and Sunshine felt like she was a god, looking down upon the Earth cradled in her hands in all its beautiful glory. She then realized, although she has had many ups and downs in this crazy town, it was not all that bad.

She hasn't had the best of lives, but this city has taught her to be strong through even the hardest of times, and a tear came to her eye as she gazed down at Bayville, feeling oddly at peace.

The crane was a good hundred yards away or so, and she was about fifty feet up, so it would take a moment or two for Victor to get to her, but she didn't want to feel like a sitting duck, so she started to climb the huge metal jungle-gym.

Creed had finally had it with the little white nuisance and climbed up the cable and slid down the neck of the crane surfer-style. He did a flip and landed on the frozen ground, then ran to the bridge and leaped onto the beams in a blind rage, closing the gap between the two at a maddening rate.

Sunshine was near the top, but was starting to panic as she looked back every few moments at her assassin, raw fury blazing in those amber eyes, and tried to calm herself by quietly singing Christmas carols.

"Si-ilent night…"

He was eight seconds away from her.

"…ho-oly night…"

Five seconds away.

"…all is calm…"

Two seconds.

"…all is bright…" he grasped her foot and tore her down to him. She yelped and bit down into one of the iron bars, yanking her foot free then kicking the bigger mutant right in the nose. He let out a horrible yell, but Sunshine was determined to get away.

She shakily stood on a bar, then hopped to one a few feet from it. She jumped over to a crossbar, and kept on going. "When will this ever end?!" she thought aloud as she slipped and almost fell. The next beam was a good twenty-feet long and was about to jump off of it, when her killer jumped _onto _the beam.

The rodent teen growled under her breath and turned to face him.

Enough was enough.

"Alright, you want me that bad? Come and get me, furrball!" He gladly obliged and was in front of her in a heartbeat and punched her in the stomach before she could react. Doubling-over in agony, she left herself an open target and he was about to smash his elbow into the back of her head.

Surprisingly though, she caught his arm and twisted it to where she had folded it nearly behind his back, then started to push on his elbow, attempting to break his arm. Although there was a loud pop, she failed and Sabertooth swung his arm and slammed her up against a vertical bar.

Hazily, she tried to focus her eyes while rubbing the back of her busted head. "You really should just give up," he said to her, as if he were scolding a small child, "I'll always find you, so why keep trying?" he kneeled down in front of her and got a good, hard look at her.

Scratches lined her white face and her nose was bleeding. The lovely forest green turtleneck sweater was now shredded and bloody with the left sleeve ripped off and the black shorts were torn apart, a red line on the skin beneath each tear.

Toad had happened to arrive just in time to see his female friend get hit. He gasped and immediately took action. He shot his tongue out as far as he could and wrapped around a high beam and hoisted himself up, then repeated the action a couple times.

He was only a tongue-length away from being by Sunshine's side, when Sabertooth grabbed the poor boys' tongue and heaved the lad up to him, then took his arm, twisting it and forcing Toad to turn to his back him. "Hey! Get your hands off—" the mutant girl stopped in her tracks when Todd had a claw pressed against his throat.

Victor had the upper hand now.

Part two up next! Wheeee!


	13. Tooth and Nail Part 2

Here's Part Two! Yay!

He laughed haughtily and knotted up the teens' arm even more, making him yelp in pain. "I never did like you, Tolansky," he said in his ear, "I can make this a two-for-one deal ya know, Rat." Out thinking, she brazenly took a small step toward them, but the assassin stepped back.

A tiny rivulet of red started to drip down Todd's neck. "H-h-he's not bluffin' 'Shine! Stay where you are, please…" the girl was at a loss. If she handed herself over, he would kill her; if she made any sudden movements, he would kill Toad and _then _her.

What's a girl to do?

She sighed in defeat, slumping her shoulders and hanging her head. "Okay, we'll trade. My life for his." Smirking, Creed dropped the boy and made his way to Sunshine. She stood there fearlessly, like a convict whose said their prayers and waiting for the death penalty.

He reached out to her, but stopped when she suddenly held her arms out to the sides, looking him right in the eye. "You can chase me all you want, but I'll die before I surrender!" with that said, she leaned sideways till she toppled over.

"Woah!" the two men yelled in unison, both nearly jumping themselves to go after her.

They didn't see any sign of her when they looked over the edge, but on the opposite side of Sabertooth, a converse sneaker came out of nowhere and hit him square in the jaw, knocking him off balance.

After kicking him, Sunshine landed behind him and was about to bash him over the head with her fist, but he spun around and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Give it up, Rat!" he then sank his teeth into the back of the girls' neck.

Unfortunately, there was a spot on her neck that, when enough pressure was applied, paralyzed her whole body. All she could do now was simply whimper as Victor started to climb up the cables. "No!" yelled Todd, getting a hold of the mans' leg.

He was determined not to let his friend slip out of his grip that easily. The killer growled and he tried to shake the boy off him, but he held strong and wrapped his tongue around Sunshine's ankle, who was trying very hard to move, but the best she could do was slightly wiggle her fingers.

The amphibious mutant wished he could do something more, but all he could do was hold on till they reached the top, while didn't take very long. Sabertooth pulled himself up, the girl still in his jaws and her friend hanging onto his leg like a wad of gum.

"Mmmph!" he grumbled and took a claw to the boys' tongue, his eyes telling him that if he did not let go, well, you know what he would do, and that scared poor Toad half to death, so let her ankle go, but still hung onto him.

The man rolled his eyes and snatched the boy by his hair and ripped him off his leg, then threw him as hard as he could. "No!" Todd screamed, seeing Sunshine's form becoming smaller and smaller as he plummeted toward the ground, but was able to grab a beam before he hit.

He looked up and cursed. It would take forever to get back up there!

Meanwhile, Victor slowly stood up and walked along the narrow, curved bar to the highest point on the bridge. He released the girl from his jaws, but pinched her neck and held her over the edge. She cautiously looked down and freaked.

Although she was not afraid of heights all that much, she was terrified of water. It was cold and dark, and sunk you down into the crushing black abyss that would become your watery grave. There was not as much pressure on her neck as there was before, so she had freedom to move.

And move she did!

She swung her arms legs about wildly, desperately trying to free herself from his grip. He merely laughed. "What's the matter? Scared of a little water?" he quickly lowered his arm a little and she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

"Stop it!" she pleaded, clawing at his hand. She managed to get his thumb, the weakest part of any persons' grip, and pulled at it as hard as she could. Gradually, his grip started to loosen and that's when she kicked out, and successfully hit the man right in his chest and setting her free.

It knocked him back, and he tried to balance himself. "If I'm going down…" Sunshine said, standing in front of him, "I'm taking you with me!" Without a moments decision, she lunged at Creed, her rodent teeth extended, and sunk her teeth into his jugular vein.

"SUNSHINE!"

The two of them toppled over the edge, and down into the cold, dark water.

There was a long and tedious search party, but neither bodies were ever found…

Next chapter is short, but the last! SO CLOSE!


	14. The Two Most Hated Creatures

SO CLOSE TO BEING FINISHED!! GAH!!

After several days of skulking about city in a deep state of depression, Todd had nowhere to go except back to the boarding house.

They had let him come back with no arguments, since they had all heard about the incident. To them, they had lost a roommate, but to Todd, he had lost not only a friend, but also a family member. So, in the early afternoon, he lay on the couch, watching mindless dribble on TV.

He sighed and wiped his bleary eyes, rolling over, but that was just a little too much movement for the beat up old sofa and it flipped over on him. "Frikkin hell!" he yelled, hitting the floor with his fist in anger. He stood and dusted himself off, and then noticed a small white box that had been under the couch.

Unsure of it, he picked it up and sat down on the floor. He opened the tiny package, and inside was beautiful golden heart-shaped locket. On either side were two small charms: on the left there was a happy little frog, holding onto the chain with one hand.

On the right was a mouse holding itself up with both paws and had a moveable tail. The two seemed to be smiling at one another and looked very happy to be part of Todd's necklace.

He knew it was for him, and he knew who wanted to give it to him and nearly cried, but covered it up with a cough. He carefully cupped the locket in his hand as if it were made of glass and opened it, marveling at the small picture inside.

It was of Sunshine from the head to her shoulders, and seemed to be taken at one of those booths you find in the mall. There was something odd about her though: she was smiling, but she was pointing up for some reason.

Todd sat there for a moment, puzzled at what the picture meant. He then got a small idea and gingerly picked at the edge of the photo, which popped out, but there was something more to it. He pulled it down and there where more pictures attached to it, heart-shaped of course.

One was of her with the "deer in the headlights" look, probably because she did not know when the picture was going to be taken. The next of her picking her nose, the next she was crossing her eyes with her tongue sticking out, but the last was by far the best.

Her wild, straw-like hair looked tamer, and her bangs were out of her normally cloudy eyes, which sparkled with life and vigor. She was slightly turned to the side and had an impish smile on her pale face, but she was just as beautiful as any normal girl was, if not more.

The green teenager sighed heavily and folded up the pictures and closed the locket, placing it around his neck. He then noticed a piece of paper in the box and picked it up, opening it and started to read the poem…

__

Rats

We carry disease

We bite and we have fleas

We scurry about

When the humans are out

We eat everything but cheese

Toads

They're ugly and disgusting

Only there for gut-busting

Scum of the Earth

Lower than dirt

They're lowlifes and distrusting

The two most hated creatures

How fitting it may seem

Two unlikely mutants

Can become such a team

Thanks for being such a great friend Todd. Merry Christmas!

Todd folded the paper back up and put it in his back pocket. Tears were blurring his vision as he got into a fetal position and gripped the locket tight. "Merry Christmas Sunshine…merry Christmas…"

__

Fin

Sorry the ending wasn't a very happy one, but it's okay. I'm thinking of a sequel, but it may take a while before anything new comes up. School keeps me from my writing that's why it's taken me so long to write this darn thing. Well, thank you for all your reviews! You guys are great!


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